The College of Optometrists

the new drug laws say that "provided its in course of proffessional practice registerd optoms can sell or supply all gsl & p medicines"..........

so hypothetical situation.....(actualy a question i was asked in pqe)

if a diabetic asian px who has been your prctice for many yrs & every yr need dilation with tropicamide & phenylephrine as a synergistic combo (every thing is clinically fine as the examiner said) could u give the px phenylephrinethe day befor to use an hr befor the ST to save them waitin around?

according to the old drug laws i said no as a p medicine u can only get it from the pharmacy under the supervision of the pharmacist..........

so how would this wrk now with the new drug laws???? help pls!

also, probly stupid Qs but should u use duochrome wit room lights on or off??

Neither of these are P medicines, they are POMs available for use by optoms, but still not supply, so unaffected by new legislation I think.

Duochrome with lights on, for a variety of reasons, but basically you are trying to check you have optimal focus in normal conditions ie. lights on.

Phenylepherine is a Pharmacy medicine.

Therefore you were correct Sophie, that prior to the recent changes the P med could not have been supplied except in an emergency.

Under the new rules you can supply Phenylepherne to the patient as it is a P med and in the course of your professional practice. Tropicamide is not a P med it is an exempt POM and so can still only be supplied in an emergency AND in the course of professional practice.

Think i would take pressures on the day myself... Sorry!

my mistake - sorry for any confusion.

duochrome with dim lights is more accurate, due to larger pupils and therefore reduce depth of focus

Duochrome works on the principles of chromatic abberation so someone with small pupils will be rubbish on it.

can anyone fill me in on new laws for use of chloramphenicol? Any up to date contact lens lawstuff i should know?

cheers folks

We can prescribe cholamphenicol drops also ointment for bacterial conjunctivitis.

It is also available from a pharmacy without prescription, only as drops, as optrex infected eyes for bacterial conjunctivitis.

There are some changed to the GOC rules on contacts - mainly to aid patients shop about for their lenses. With the link between sole supply and prescribing broken it is now incumbant on the supplier(seller) to ensure adequate aftercare. The patient remains responsible up to the point of giving the prescription. The prescription has to cover the spec of the lenses in all details and include an expiry date which must be clinically justifiable. Plano cls also now are the sole domain of a qualified optician - being only sold to a prescription.

Clinically justifiable expiry is an interesting concept - it would mean that everyone should have it tailored to their needs and lenses.

What it boils down to is that if you take on a px - you fit and trial lenses and offer a prescription after 3 months successful wear. You offer them the Rx for it - with an expiry date (3 months for extended, 12 months for daily p/time wear, for example). After that time their aftercare will renew it again. Any interim aftercare is up to px and you. The seller of the lenses takes on the role of ensuring aftercare as he can't sell lenses beyond the expiry date. Who is responsible for non-scheduled aftercare remains debatable - unless the px buys the aftercare from the prescriber .thats how I understand it.